


Christmastime

by stormysunshine



Category: Black Panther (2018), MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Black Panther - Freeform, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, Erik Killmonger - Freeform, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Love, Smut Mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21741007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormysunshine/pseuds/stormysunshine
Summary: Y/N loves everything about the holidays and decorating for Christmas is her favorite part. She hopes Erik can join in, too.
Relationships: Erik Killmonger/Reader
Kudos: 26





	Christmastime

" _Last Christmas, I gave you my heart. Then the very next day, you gave it away_ ," Y/N mumbled along to the lyrics of the holiday classic. She bounced on her hip as she set a shiny red ornament near the top of the Christmas tree. 

Four hours later, Y/N had nearly transformed her apartment into a winter wonderland. Garland and stockings were put above the electrical fireplace, light were strung about the ceiling, candy dishes were assorted with candy canes, mints, and chocolates, and fresh ginger, sugar, and chocolate chip cookies were piled onto snowflake-styled plates in the kitchen. The apartment smelling sweet and feeling warm, Y/N could finally concentrate on her favorite part of Christmas decorating - the tree. 

The tree was already glistening with its pre-lit stems. Though her family and friends thought it was a waste of money, she changed the color of the ornaments every year. Her first holiday in her new apartment had been cloaked with the traditional colors of red and green. The next year had been funky multi-colors blinking pink, blue, and orange. This year, she had gone with gold and ivory. She had blushed when her boyfriend, Erik, asked why she chose those colors this time. She lied and told him it reminded her of bells and snow, but in reality, the scheme reminded her of his smile. Gold canine grills shining against bright white teeth. 

Y/N smiled in spite of herself and continued to add gold and ivory balls and bows to the Christmas tree. Erik said he would help her decorate this year despite his never having decorated for the Holidays before. Also, it was getting late.

It was almost eight o'clock when Y/N realized she had nearly completed the entire tree. She decided to leave a small section for him to finish, just so he could feel as though he helped out at least a little. Y/N stretched and went to the window in the living room. It had begun to snow outside, dusting the city with flaky frosting. Y/N pressed her finger to the cold window. Wiping at the condensation, she drew a heart, then frowned. Had Erik forgotten that this was her "Decorating Saturday!"? He was supposed to be there hours ago. 

His career as an informant kept him busy often. When he was not on flights that flew him across the world, he was working sixty hours a week at the city's office, conversing with public and governmental officials aligned with Wakanda. Sometimes he would get called on the weekends or had to stay after hours. They did not live together yet, so if Y/N was lucky, she saw him at least once for a few hours a week. Y/N hated the arrangement, but she knew Erik's work was important to him, and she agreed to be his girlfriend knowing how much of his work occupied his time. 

_"I mean, we don't gotta...do this...if it's too much," Erik gestured between them. They sat out on Y/N's fire escape, looking out a the bronze sunset. Erik had come over for lunch and remained, despite his ringing work phone, at her place. They retired outside, the warmth of the late summer sun a thin blanket preparing for the cool of night. They had been going out for a few months, finding time between their busy schedules to link up. Though they could not see each other physically often, they kept in constant contact through text and FaceTime._

_Y/N could feel herself falling hard for the cheeky boy behind the brooding statue of a man. She looked forward to surprise calls at midnight despite her gripes of having to get home early. She liked when he found time to take her on lunch dates to her favorite deli. She especially liked it when he came over after work, smelling of Coach's Platinum Eau De Parfum and a day's work. Sometimes he would grab dinner, and sometimes she would make them some. Afterward, they would cuddle and watch a movie or make out, which Y/N always preferred._

_He would always pull her into his lap so he could wrap his arms around her hips, kissing her gently as if to give grace to the day leading him to her. She felt safe in his arms, connected in a way that was foreign to her. Though he looked like he could break through a door with a single chip, his was surprisingly tender with her, only adding pressure when he heard her melodic moan. The first time they made love had been on her rug. He had her gripping its fibers and screaming to deities. He handled her thoroughly, encouraging her orgasm with sultry groans in her ear and nips against her neck. He only caught his own after her body had tensed and frozen with the apex of pleasure. He made her feel so damned special, loved even, but his job concerned her._

_Y/N wanted him to be her boyfriend, to be an official coupling that she could finally tell family and friends about, but considering his track record of having to cancel dates due to his job and travels, she thought she would be dreaming of a dedication she would never get._

_"Look, I'm really feelin' you, and I want you to be my woman, but I get it if my job is too much to handle. I can take more time off; I got enough TPO saved up. I can be around more." Erik had never come across as someone who begged, but that was exactly what it sounded like to Y/N. She could tell he was serious, that he liked her as much as she liked him, and she found herself saying yes, that she was ready to commit to something deeper with him._

They had been together for two years, and while Erik kept his promise, shortening his weeks to fifty hours a week and becoming completely unavailable on Sundays, Y/N still found herself missing him terribly. They had grown together as couple, connected and working on the same wavelength most of the time, but Y/N felt herself having to hold him tighter when he hugged her goodbye and ride out their orgasms more slowly to savor the moment she knew she would not have as often as she wanted. She did not want to be selfish, but even her own job as a neurologist did not keep her busy enough not to miss him. 

Erik had not grown up celebrating Christmas, so their first holiday season together had been interesting. She taught him carols, how to make ginger bread houses, and watched endless Christmas films. She found out later that when he said he did not celebrate it, it did not mean he was clueless as to what it was. He just found it funny how happy she got, so he let her ramble on about the meanings of candy canes to her heart's desire. 

This Christmas, however, would be special, because it was the first Christmas they would be spending together. Their first year together, he had gotten called overseas at the last moment; apparently something urgent had occurred. He had not come back to the states until early February. Y/N could not hide that she had been incredibly disappointed that he missed Christmas and New Years' with her, so he made it his mission to take off from work completely for the holidays. Y/N told him she was being a baby, that he had a job and she did not want to get in the way of that, but he shook his head. "Nah, baby girl; you important to me, and I know this whole holiday shit is important to you." He gestured to the decorations she had yet to take down. "So it's gotta be important to me, too. You don't ask much of me. I can do this for you."

Just as she was beginning to think it was about to be a repeat of the year before, the front door knob sounded with a rustle of keys. Y/N stepped away from the window and went to the front entrance just as Erik came in. In one arm he held a pizza box, in the other crux of his elbow, a black bag clinking with wine bottles, and a single rose he held between his teeth. 

Y/N smirked and watched him balance all the items expertly until he reached the kitchen island. He set everything down but the rose, Y/N beating him to it. She traipsed toward him and took the flower from his mouth. "Hey," she grinned and pecked his lips. 

"Hey. I know I'm late." 

"It's okay."

"No, it ain't." He shook his head as Y/N went to the kitchen table to place the rose in the empty vase that sat at the center. "I told you I'd be here." He took off his coat.

"Babe, really," Y/N sympathized, taking the outerwear from him. She walked to the hallway closet and hung it up. "I know the year-end schedule can get crazy-,"

"Nah, I said I'd be here. You know I don't like breaking my promises." 

Y/N simpered, softened by his repentance, and walked back over to him. She ran her palms up his arms and settled them onto his shoulders. Massaging them gently, she replied, "You take things _way_ too seriously sometimes. I said it's cool, so it's cool. Besides," she swiped a few locs off his forehead and cupped his cheeks into her hands, "You wouldn't've have been any help anyway."

She giggled and pulled away from Erik, who feigned offense though she knew that _he_ knew it was the truth. For every season or holiday, including Juneteenth, Y/N would decorate. Erik found it entertaining to watch her reach for high corners of the ceiling to add a dish of this and a touch of that onto tables. Each time, however, all he would do was sit on the couch, glancing between her and the T.V. or texting on his phone, responding to e-mails or doing research. Christmas was no different. 

Y/N did not mind because she was so particular about where she wanted everything to go, and she liked being watched. Erik would stare unabashedly as she would reach or bend just right for him to get an eyeful of her backside. 

"What'chu mean?" Erik smacked his teeth and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the plate. Between bites he insisted, "I'da been great help. Don't play." He gave her a playful smack on the ass before going over tot he couch. He plopped onto it, his long legs spread wide while one arm hung from the back of the furniture. 

"Ha, sure," Y/N tittered and went to join him. She draped her right leg across his lap and his hand instantly went to her calf, rubbing at the soft skin there. Her fingers instinctively went to the nape of his neck, pressing into the muscles there. Erik was still an active fighter. His cousin T'Challa needed him as apart of his security detail whenever he was in Wakanda, his skills precise and muscles hardened, but one night Y/N noticed him rolling his neck and shoulders, clearly uncomfortable. So, she made it a habit to rub his neck every time they cuddled, just in case.

"Why are you eating the cookies before we have dinner? Those were for dessert," she told him and he gave her a lame look. 

"Now you know I wasn't about to come up in here and not eat one first."

Y/N chuckled. While she thought her baking skills were mediocre, he was obsessed with the cookies she would make. He would damn-near demand that she make his favorite, chocolate chip, every weekend. "Erik, I am not baking cookies every Saturday!" she told him through a laugh after the fifth week in a row he was asking for her cookies. "That's too much damn work. I'll do it twice a month, all right?" 

Y/N found it funny that Erik, who looked like he ate bricks for breakfast, had a sweet tooth, especially when it came to chocolate. "What? A nigga can't like chocolate?" He brooded at her teasing when she brought it up. She thought her jesting was light, but apparently he thought she was taking it too far. He had her hemmed up against the wall, his palm dwarfing her throat. Squeezing slightly, he whispered in her ear, "But I be eatin' your chocolate all the damn time. I don't be hearin' a word then." The hand that was not at the base of her throat went to cup her backside, then slid between her legs. She knew his attitude had all been a guise to get inside of her, but she enjoyed his dominance nonetheless. She made a mental note to tease him whenever she was in a sudden mood. 

Y/N moved her hand from the back of his neck to his cheek. With her thumb she swiped away bits of crumb off his lips from the cookie. The motion was innocent, but being so near him set off the familiar fluttering in her belly. His gaze lowered to her lips knowingly and she moved to his lap, settling her thighs on top of his thighs. He kissed her gently, their rhythm familiar and warm. He pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger, opening her mouth so he could dip his tongue into it. Y/N welcomed it, her own circling his. 

She liked it when they were like this, close ad touching. Y/N often felt deprived of the feeling, so when she got it, she behaved like she was starved. 

Y/N thought Erik's hands against her body was him hinting at something more, but she felt the sigh leave his chest beneath her palms, and his lips slowed until they eventually stopped. Y/N sat back, her brows furrowed. "You okay? Huh?" She cupped his face in her hands, swiping her thumbs at the stubble on his cheeks. He exhaled again before his downcast eyes lifted to hers. 

"I love you, you know that, right?" 

Y/N nodded. "Yeah. I love you, too."

"So you happy with me?"

Her confusion did not shift. "Yes." 

Erik looked as if he was muddling through his thoughts, his lips twisting in the way they did when he did not know what to say immediately.

"I know I ain't the easiest nigga to be with," he finally offered, his eyes not leaving hers. "I know it gets on your nerves when work takes over, when I can't be there for everything. I don't want yu to think that I ain't tryin' my best. I don't half-do nothin', ma." 

Y/N smiled a bit, her head dipping in embarrassment. Yes, that she knew for certain. "I know, babe. Why're you telling me this?"

"I never really got into the whole holiday shit, but know it's important to you, so I want you to know I care about that. You act like shit don't bother you just to make me feel better, but I know it does."

Y/N sighed, wishing he did not look so upset with himself, wishing she could say the words to sway him from his disappointment, but she knew he hated when she did that. He was a grown man; he could handle her truths.

"Well, I'm not _thrilled_ that we can't be together as much as we want to, and yeah, I get annoyed that your job can be the main cause of that, but you've kept it real with me from day one. You don't try to promise me anything you know you won't be able to fulfill, so I know that things like today were truly an accident."

Erik just looked at her and shook his head. "Damn, ma, you real." He leaned forward to kiss her, then leaned her forehead against hers. "I wanna be able to give you everything," he said, and Y/N knew he meant it. Erik did not care about a lot of people, let alone bring himself to love many. He did not say things he did not mean, so him wanting to give her the world warmed her heart in a way she wondered if she could ever truly repay. 

"You being here is enough." She tapped his nose with her finger. She pursed her lips and looked as if she were thinking for a moment. "At least for tonight." She giggled and pressed her lips to his again. This time, his ardor was stronger, and she knew from the moment his hands gripped the back of her thighs and he stood with her in tow, he was ready to be all he could be until dawn. 

Plus, he needed to finish the tree, and Y/N was not letting him out of the apartment until he did. 

\- - -

**_Happy Holidays, everyone!_ **


End file.
